Campgrounds, RV parks move forward with improvements

Campgrounds and RV parks across the Lone Star State are investing in capital improvement projects and, in some cases, modest expansions this year, according to park operators and industry officials.

“Private campgrounds and RV parks know they are the most affordable vacation option and they want to retain their competitive edge against other travel and tourism venues, so many of them are investing in improvements and expansion projects,” says Brian Schaeffer, executive director and CEO of the Texas Association of Campground Owners.

He says the improvements include everything from the addition of new campsites and park model rental cabins to new amenities which are making some parks vacation destinations in themselves.

Among the improvements taking place in and around the San Antonio area are:

• Hidden Valley RV Park in Von Ormy. This park has reinvested more than 75 percent of its profits from last year into additional improvements throughout the park.

“We have recently begun to upgrade five of our 30 amp sites to accommodate both 30 and 50 amp rigs, since so many rig owners seem to prefer the 50 amp option,” says co-owner Teri Blaschke. The park has also added two new campsites, removed brush and trees to enlarge some of its campsites, and refurbished its entrance road and signage. New landscaping has also been planted.

“We are seeing huge demand,” says partner Bryan Kastleman of Austin-based Kastleman & Associates Inc., which manages the park. “I have turned away well over 100 prospective guests this past fall and winter.” With the addition of 13 more park models, Hill Country RV Resort will have a total of 33 park models. Other major improvements completed during the past year and a half include upgrading the park’s electrical and sewer service, repainting buildings throughout the park, installing 44 new washers and dryers in the laundry rooms and installing a new Wi-Fi system. A new camp store is currently under construction.

Sapient scholarships

College students of multicultural background residing in San Antonio will have a chance to win scholarships as part of a scholarship program sponsored by Sapient Financial Group and its corporate partner, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.

Students of African-American, Asian/Pacific Islander, or Hispanic descent who reside in San Antonio can apply for one of three $5,000 college scholarships. Applicants must meet certain academic criteria, such as having concentrations in the fields of accounting, business, economics, finance, marketing, math or statistics.

The scholarship program’s application deadline is May 30, and winners will be notified in late summer.

To be eligible, applicants must:

• Be of African-American, Asian/Pacific Islander American, or Hispanic descent;

• Be enrolled full-time as an undergraduate student in a degree-seeking program at a U.S.-accredited institution in the U.S., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, or Guam;

• Have a minimum of a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale;

• Be a rising sophomore, junior, senior or fifth-year senior student enrolled in college full-time;

• Be a resident of San Antonio;

• Be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident with a valid permanent resident card or passport stamped I-551;

• Apply for federal financial aid using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); and

• Demonstrate leadership and extra-curricular involvement.

“These scholarships will help deserving candidates to obtain the education and experience they’ll need to become financial professionals and, ultimately, to help serve San Antonio’s increasingly diverse community,” Sapient Financial Group’s CEO Frank Woodruff said in a prepared statement.

The program will be administered by the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

For more information on how to apply or to obtain an application visit www.hsf.net/massmutual.aspx or contact Jackie Woodruff via e-mail at jwoodruff@finsvcs.com.

Sapient Financial Group offers access to a full range of retirement, investment and risk management services to individuals and small businesses.

— Tamarind Phinisee

Youth fiction writers

Budding writers in junior high and high schools in Texas can enter the 9th Annual Fiction Writing Contest presented by the Texas Book Festival and University Interscholastic League (UIL).

The stories must be double-spaced and formatted as a Microsoft Word document and then submitted with the official completed entry form, available on the Texas Book Festival Web site: www.texasbookfestival.org.

The stories must either be faxed or e-mailed to the Texas Book Festival office at 512-322-0722 or to blair@texasbookfestival.org no later than July 2, 2010.

Entries must be original fiction, no more than 2,000 words in length, and written on the 2010 theme “Goodbye to All That.”

Stories will be judged by Texas writers, who will look for excellence in use of dialogue, character development, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution.

Submitted entries will be considered in three divisions: Grades 7-8; Grades 9-10; Grades 11-12.

Authors will enter the division for which they were a student during the 2009-10 academic year. Schools are limited to three entries per division.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the first, second, and third place finishers per division. First-place winners will be invited to Austin to receive an award and to read their works during the 2010 Texas Book Festival on Oct. 16 and 17 at the State Capitol in Austin. Winning entries also will be published on the Texas Book Festival Web site.

There is no entry fee.

For additional information or to sponsor the contest, contact Blair Newberry at blair@texasbookfestival.org.

Entry forms are available on the UIL and the Texas Book Festival Web sites at: www.texasbookfestival.org or at www.uil.utexas.edu/academics/book_festival.html.